2024 WA State Campaign Watch-The Exodus of the Moderates & the Introduction of New Faces

While the rematch of the Biden v. Trump battle will capture the bulk of the political national media attention over the course of the summer, there is a lot more than that going on this election cycle in Washington state. In addition to the Washington state governor race, other statewide offices, and several key state legislative contests will be closely watched which will have a significant impact on rental housing is sues in Washington State. 

WHAT IS ON THE BALLOT AND WHEN IS THE ELECTION?
Over 1,000 candidates filed for more than 400 federal, state, judicial, and a few local offices once the deadline to file for elective office in Washington state ended at 5 p.m., May 10, 2024.

Washington’s all mail-in ballot primary is set for August 6, 2024, when the list of 1,000 candidates will be cut in half. Ballots are scheduled to be mailed out by July 19. The general election is scheduled for November 6.

In addition to the rematch of the U.S. Presidential race, several other state wide and legislative races will be hotly contested, most notably the race for governor which will be an open seat as 12-year incumbent Jay Inslee is not seeking re-election and pits RHAWA endorsed candidate Democrat state senator Mark Mullett from Issaquah against a crowded field of 30 filed candidates. In addition to Sen. Mullett, others competitive candidates seeking the office include Republican state party endorsed candidate Semi Bird, a former Richland school board member, former Republican congressperson and King County sheriff Dave Reichert, and Democrat attorney general Bob Ferguson.

In addition to the governor, Washing ton voters will be deciding on a slew of other statewide offices – Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Public Lands, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Also, three-term incumbent U.S. Sen ator Maria Cantwell faces re-election and all nine U.S. congressional seats are up as well, several of which will be hotly contested. There are also three statewide initiatives, a Seattle City Council seat along with two potential tax measures, and a trickle of other local ballot measures and council elections.

WHAT TO WATCH
Let’s focus on the state senate where several members who have been sup porters of rental housing are either retiring or running for another office leaving a total of seven open seats. Six are currently held by Democrats and one Republican. Currently the state senate is made up of 29 Democrats and 20 Republicans. While most pundits predict there will be no major changes in the overall partisan makeup of the Senate after this election cycle, many are closely watching to see if a trend toward electing moderate Democrats will prevail or will the more progressive ultra-left dominate the fall ballot. On the following page you will find a comprehensive breakdown of RHAWA's top priority senate races. 

DISTRICT 3 
With Senator Majority Leader Andy Billig (D) not running for re-election, this district in Spokane will be a big one to watch. Current District 3 Representative Marcus Riccelli (D) is running for the now vacant senate seat and is willing to work with RHAWA and issues important to our industry. The favorite to occupy Representatives Riccelli’s seat is former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart (D) who has always been an ardent advo cate for rental housing providers in Eastern Washington. 

DISTRICT 5
Current State Senator Mark Mullet (D) is running for Governor and will vacate his seat. Senator Mullet has been a housing champion for RHAWA in the senate and his strength will be sorely missed. Some names to watch are cur rent District 5 Representative Bill Ra mos (D) who understands the priorities of RHAWA. Another name to watch is former District 5 Representative Chad Magendanz (R) who is running for the Senate seat as well and would be a friend to rental housing providers.

Jason Ritchie (D) is a name to watch for running to fill the seat vacated by Representative Ramos. Ritchie is considered to be a friend of small rental housing providers and understands the issues important to our industry. 

DISTRICT 10
The current Senator for this district is Ron Muzzall (R) and he is the only Re publican state legislator in the 10th. Both State Representatives are Democrats, and the hope for Dem’s is to flip this district completely to their party. Senator Muzzall’s opponent is Janet St. Claire (D) the current Is land County Commissioner. Senator Muzzall was originally appointed in 2019 and then was elected to his position in 2020. This is an extremely important district as this could have a far-reaching impact on the party numbers in the Senate and district numbers going forward. The 10th is seen as a swing district the boundaries were altered along with many other districts in the state over the last few years. The 10th now includes much of Arlington and no longer Pilchuck, McMurray, and Trafton so time will tell if this alters the voter base. 

DISTRICT 14
This is an entirely newly drawn district that came out of the controversial redistricting process over the last few years and has been changed from its previous designation of District 15. This redrawing process redistricted out three sitting Republican senators. We will need to see how all the chips fall once the election is held. This has the potential to be a little messy as it will pit some Republican’s against incumbents in their own party if they choose to seek reelection. These senators include District 15 Senator Nikki Torres, the only Latina senator in Washington, Senator Brad Hawkins from District 12 and Senator Curtis King from the former District 14. Several state representatives have also been redistricted out of their former districts. 

DISTRICT 18 
The current State Senator Ann Rivers (R) has made the decision to not seek re-election so the name to watch here is Greg Cheney (R). Cheney is currently a State Representative for the 18th and is now planning a move over to the sen ate if elected. This district is important because Representative Cheney would continue to ensure a seat in the senate that would be a no on rent control. 

DISTRICT 24
State Senator Kevin Van De Wege (D) is vacating his seat as he is running for Commissioner of Public Lands. He hopes to take over for Hilary Franz (D) who is campaigning for United States Congress. The name to watch here is going to be current 25th District Representative Mike Chapman (D). Representative Chapman was one of the few Democrats to vote no on the rent control bill 2114 on the house floor  breaking with his caucus. His election to the senate would help ensure another NO vote for rent control in the opposite chamber.  

Another race to watch here will be the race for the representative seat currently held by Mike Chapman. Some names to watch are Adam Bernbaum (D), who is Senator Van De Wege’s former Legislative Assistant, and Nate Tyler (D) who has the endorsement of the previously discussed Mike Chap man and Hillary Franz. 

DISTRICT 28
The 28th was also redrawn in the redistricting process and now no longer includes Tacoma, but instead absorbed more of Lakewood. The candidate to watch here is Maia Espinoza (R) who previously ran for the representative seat in this district in 2018 and will look to unseat incumbent Senator T’wina Nobles (D). Please see my candidate profile on Maia in this issue of Current for more information about her. This district presents a good chance of flip ping the senate seat back to the Republican party which previously held this seat for decades. 

Also, up for re-election in District 28 are Representatives Mari Leavitt and Dan Bronoske who both voted No on rent control on the house floor along with Representatives Mike Chapman and Amy Walen.

In next month’s CURRENT, we will dive into many of the house races to watch including Jim Henderson (R) for the representative seat in district 26. Jim is a rental housing provider; he is a former lobbyist for RHAWA and understands our issues inside and out. See June’s issue of The CURRENT for a candidate profile on Jim. He would be a fantastic addition to the state House of Representatives and has the full sup port of the current District 26 representatives Michelle Caldier (R), who is also seeking reelection, and Spencer Hutchins (R) who is vacating his seat. This district is another swing district as many of the recent elections have been decided by less than one percent .

Formal legal advice and review is rec ommended prior to selection and use of this information. RHAWA does not represent your selection or execution of this information as appropriate for your specific circumstance. The mate rial contained and represented here in, although obtained from reliable sources, is not considered legal advice or to be used as a substitution for le gal counsel.